Official status of Syracuse University football players omitted from media guide unchanged

John Berry / The Post-StandardSyracuse University football coach Doug Marrone says he expects all signed players omitted from the 2012 media guide with the exception of defensive end Myles Hilliard to report for duty Saturday and be on the field Monday for the start of preseason camp.

Syracuse, NY -- The status of several Syracuse University football players omitted from this year’s media guide remains officially unresolved as players prepare to report for preseason camp Saturday. That was the situation as of late Thursday, anyway. The SU sports information department said it would inform me as soon as the situation changes. The omissions:

Markus Pierce-Brewster (6-foot-3, 230 pounds), a junior-college All-American and the California Community College Football Association defensive player of the year;

George Morris III (6-1, 192), a freshman tailback from Georgia who rushed for 1,045 yards and 17 touchdowns and caught 36 passes for 395 yards as a high school senior;

Myles Hilliard (6-5, 250), a defensive end from Ohio rated the 17th-best player in Northeast Ohio by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Head coach Doug Marrone told me he expected all but Hilliard, who is headed to Milford Academy to get his academics in order, to be on campus and eligible to play when the team reports Saturday in preparation for the start of preseason practice. He told me Barrett’s situation was not academic and has been resolved and the player is definitely in. An SU media contact said the players were omitted from the guide because when its publication deadline approached their admission status was still unresolved and to be on the safe side they were left out.

The Orange Fizz reported Thursday night that Morris was on campus and ready to report, but being on campus and being cleared to play are two different things. Morris tweeted a photo of his locker at SU with his equipment waiting for him, but Marrone told me every player who signed a letter of intent to attend SU has a locker and equipment waiting. Morris’ high school coach told the Fizz the player had an online course to finish before he could head to Syracuse, which caused his absence from the team’s summer startup program. I’m not pushing the panic button here, but I know of several cases involving online courses that caused a delay in a prospective player’s actual arrival on the practice field. I’m going to wait until I hear officially from the folks at SU before I pencil in Morris as a sure thing.

Also missing from the media guide were three transfers who entered the picture during the summer – defensive end John Raymon from Iowa and JUCO wide receiver Christopher Clark and defensive tackle Davon Walls. Marrone is prohibited by NCAA rules from discussing any of the three until they are officially admitted to school, and that has yet to happen. It is unclear whether they will be eligible to report with the rest of the team Saturday and begin practice Monday. An SU media contact said it could be Saturday before their situation is cleared up. I will keep you updated as I learn more.